I recently picked up a book titled, "DMT: The Spirit Gland" and I found it quite interesting. It was written by a medical doctor and researcher at the University of New Mexico and his explorations with the drug DMT.

DMT is found naturally in our brain, residing in the small but powerful pineal gland. Ancient philosophers have theorized that the gland is the "seat of the soul" -- or the metaphysical point at which body and conscious connect. At birth, death, and near-death experiences the pineal gland opens its defenses and floods DMT into our bloodstream. It is often associated with the "life flashing before my eyes" experience and causes intense hallucinations.

In the study, the doctor administered varying amounts of synthesized DMT to patient volunteers and got some pretty astonishing results. Several of the participants encountered spirits and deities and even what some referred to as "DMT elves". The spirits were often trying to communicate to the patients and seemed to be "preparing" them. Most of the subjects felt that their DMT experience was beyond there body; not just inside their head, but in a third party location, like in outer space somewhere. DMT appeared to be a vehicle of some sort to a different world.

Do you guys think these hallucinations inspired by this DMT are simply that, meaningless hallucinations; or do you think there is something more? -- that maybe this DMT production in the pineal gland offers some proof of a sort of afterlife.

Most philosophers would agree that Descartes had backed himself into a corner with his dualism and used the pineal gland as a copout. Most philosophers would agree that implicit arguments from authority are bunk.

OR PERHAPS instead of there actually being an afterlife, all accounts for seeing one during near death experiences and during death in general are actually the person tripping balls when DMT (among several other chemicals) begin spilling out of your brain. There is no afterlife, just DMT.

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Originally Posted by ReVeLaTioN

You don't consider "do you think hallucinations are with or without meaning" to be a fair question to pose in a forum discussion about religion and spirituality? Ok then. I'm sorry my questions aren't up to your standards.